Malt Shovel Taphouse Review

The Malt Shovel Taphouse is a new craft beer bar and restaurant perched right on the edge of Adelaide’s Riverbank.

The new venue includes a dedicated restaurant with a food matched menu, and a large outdoor riverside deck which is just the sort of place we’d all like to spend a lazy Friday afternoon enjoying. Even better, it’s family-friendly and it even has special dog-friendly areas so the whole family can enjoy the Malt Shovel Taphouse.

Plus it will be right next to the new $1.2M Adelaide Riverbank playground, which would seriously transform this area. This is still in the pipeline so watch this space for updates.

With amazing views over the Torrens and right across to Adelaide Oval, the Malt Shovel Taphouse is a fabulous location and it’s no wonder the bookings for their New Year’s Eve party are being snapped up quickly. More details below.

The Malt Shovel Taphouse opens to the public officially today, Friday 30 November, at 6:30pm.

What to eat and drink at the Malt Shovel Taphouse

They love their beer here and they take the art of beer very seriously. With 16 beers on tap there’s somewhere to suit everyone from the beer nerds to the reluctant beer drinkers.

Many of their beers are “limited edition” craft beers difficult to find anywhere else; and for non-beer drinkers there’s a wine list featuring South Australian wines.

We were given a mini masterclass on how to pour the perfect beer – such an important life skill – and how to get the most flavour of your beer.

Hot tip: pour the beer in stages: do the first pour and let it sit for a minute then top it up later.

The kitchen is headed up by chef Kane Boase (of 2KW and Fino). Their menu is designed to pair with the beer, which is served in beer paddles, as part of the whole tasting experience. For instance their dark beers go beautifully with the caramelisation on their spit-roasted lamb.

Rotisserie meats feature heavily on their menu but as well as a focus on slow-roasted meat they also offer a variety of vegetarian dishes.

We particularly enjoyed the mushrooms, the slow-roasted beef with vege ash (the ash mixes with the juices of beef and gives the illusion of a jus – all a bit clever), and their chicken which was slow browned for 24 hours and came with some delicious spices to be sprinkled on top of it.

Trio of dips.

The prettiest salad I’ve ever seen

Flight of beer with fried chicken wings with bama (short for Alabama) sauce – very morrish.

Malt Shovel Taphouse Adelaide is operated by Adelaide Oval under licence agreement with Lion Co, who are a key supplier partner, so you’ll find beers like James Squire, Little Creatures, White Rabbit and Furphy plus many more.

A simple green salad, beautifully seasoned and seriously good.

Roasted chat potatoes.

The beef

This is the agave glazed roasted pumpkin – nom nom.

What makes the new Malt Shovel Taphouse family-friendly

New family zone coming soonwhich will include board games to keep kids busy, and soft furnishings

Accessible toilets with baby change facilities

Accessible access – which will also be great for prams

An all day dining menu

Dogs welcome outside on their deck

Adelaide’s Riverbank area has been undergoing a massive transformation and with so much to do and see right on the edge of the Torrens, it’s exciting to have a new family-friendly restaurant to go and enjoy.

We think the Malt Shovel Taphouse will be the ideal spot to go with friends from out of town, or after the footy (you can see the Adelaide Oval from inside the restaurant), or after the theatre … or you could take the whole family out on a bike ride along the edge of the Torrens and stop off for lunch here in the sun.

You could order something child-friendly off the menu to be enjoyed picnic-style on the lawn in front of the restaurant with parents tag-teaming the supervision, or kids could bring their scooters and bikes and burn off some energy while their parents are soaking up the views.

There’s also the potential to enjoy some rolling down the hill – and in the pipeline is the new $1.2M Adelaide Riverbank playground, which would seriously transform this area. Watch this space.

This is taken from where the planned family zone will be.

Parent room: tick

Comfy seats.

A nicely sloped ‘hill’ which would lend itself to some hill sledding.

Malt Shovel Taphouse New Years Eve Party

If you’re looking for somewhere right in the centre of the action then this could be the place to be. Tickets are $190 for adults and $70 for children and this gives you access to an “all you can eat” and “all you can drink” menu. We think this would be a fun spot to watch the fireworks right there on the bridge.

About Susannah: I’m a mum to three boys and a little girl and I am learning to embrace the chaos. I love my morning coffee, exercise, cranking up some good tunes on the stereo, and heading away to new places on holiday. Originally from New Zealand, I now call Adelaide home and I love getting out and about and exploring all the fabulous things for families to do in Adelaide.

What: Malt Shovel Taphouse

When: opening times as above

Where: Festival Drive under the Dunstan Playhouse and Adelaide Oval footbridge at the Adelaide Festival Centre on the River Torrens.

Who: Everyone – dogs are welcome too!

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

All photos are by Play & Go.

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